Hardware platform architectures require a set of manageability features in order to monitor and manage an associated system. Manageability features may include, for example, negotiating power budgets between circuit boards of the system, monitoring and controlling cooling, hot-swap management and other capabilities that may be related to security.
Dedicated hardware solutions exist to perform manageability features. However, such dedicated hardware solutions may be designed only for a particular system, and may lack flexibility to be readily incorporated into different systems. For example, one dedicated hardware solution for a particular sized chassis may require significant reengineering to fit the hardware in a different sized chassis. This reengineering may include determining where to best locate the hardware and performing thermal validation, and it may take considerable time and expense. In some situations, dedicated hardware solutions may not even be able to be situated in a new environment, e.g., base stations, node-b, and other edge segments, despite significant reengineering given size/form factor and other constraints of the new environment.
In addition, conventional hardware solutions require space in an environment where there is a premium on space. Furthermore, conventional hardware solutions may contribute to a significant consumption of power in an environment where there is also a premium on power consumption. Such power consumption, partly attributable to cooling of the hardware, may detract from allowable power consumption of other components. Furthermore, conventional hardware solutions may lack flexibility to communicate with a plurality of devices using a plurality of communication protocols.
Although the following Detailed Description will proceed with reference being made to illustrative embodiments, many alternatives, modifications, and variations thereof will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, it is intended that the claimed subject matter be viewed broadly.